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The NCAA News -- December 6, 1999

Saints annointed as men's soccer champions with 2-0 win

St. Lawrence defeated host Wheaton (Illinois), 2-0, to win the Division III Men's Soccer Championship November 28. The Saints took home their third NCAA championship in all sports and their first in men's soccer.

The Saints ended the season with a perfect 22-0 record and finished as the only undefeated and untied team in Division III. The title also continued the longest winning streak in the country at 42.

St. Lawrence scored the game-winning goal quickly, tallying with less than four minutes gone in the game. Jamal Ballantyne took a feed from team captain Dan Annan, avoided a Wheaton defender and made his way toward the Crusaders' goal. Teammate Ryan Carruth was waiting undefended in front of the goal mouth, took the cross from Ballantyne and chipped the ball over the goal line with only 3:36 elapsed.

An insurance goal followed at the 26:29 mark when Mike Berner scored past Wheaton goalkeeper Rusty Rosen. The Crusaders would not recover from the 2-0 deficit, even though they did launch 14 shots against the Saints' defense. St. Lawrence goalkeeper Brendan Murphy recorded two saves and the shutout, his 12th of the season, tying the school record for shutouts in a season.

Annan, a senior, ended his collegiate career in by turning a dream of winning a championship into a reality.

"That's every player's dream," he said. "We did it, and we can't ask for any better than that."

St. Lawrence head coach Bob Durocher was impressed with his team's victory, too. "It is hard to believe," said Durocher. "It is something I always dreamed about as a player. Winning the championship is not obviously the sole motivation to coach a team, but it is always in the back of your mind."

Joe Bean, Wheaton head coach, gave the St. Lawrence team credit for pulling out the victory. "St. Lawrence is a fast team, and we did not match up well from the beginning," said Bean. "It was a fast field, and we just didn't match up very well in the first half. In a game like this, if you don't get that first goal as the clock ticks down, you are taken out of your composure."

The Crusaders ended their season with an 18-3-2 slate. Wheaton's only other two appearances in the championship game were victories in 1984 and 1997.

QUARTERFINALS

Richard Stockton 1, Williams 0; Wheaton (Ill.) 1, Salisbury St. 0; St. Lawrence 1, Messiah 0; Alma 2, Trinity (Tex.) 1.

SEMIFINALS

St. Lawrence 1 1 -- 2

Alma 0 0 -- 0

First half: SL -- Matt Bogosian (Mike Berner), 34:54.

Second half: SL -- Scott Dulay (Jamal Ballantyne), 53:24.

Shots: St. Lawrence 18, Alma 10. Goalkeeper saves: St. Lawrence (Brendan Murphy ) 2, Alma (Jon Cullen) 5. Corner kicks: St. Lawrence 1, Alma 4. Fouls: St. Lawrence 16, Alma 10. Attendance: 1,860.

Wheaton (Ill.) 0 4 -- 4

Richard Stockton 0 0 -- 0

Second half: W -- Rob Mouw (Josh West), 50:05; W -- Mouw (unassisted), 53:28; W -- Eric Brown (Mouw), 58:50; W -- Mouw (Heath Weeks), 75:36.

Shots: Wheaton (Ill.) 23, Richard Stockton 13. Goalkeeper saves: Wheaton (Ill.) (Rusty Rosen) 7, Richard Stockton (Tom Saver) 7, (Mike Hoffman) 0. Corner kicks: Wheaton (Ill.) 4, Richard Stockton 6. Fouls: Wheaton (Ill.) 13, Richard Stockton 12. Attendance: 1,860.

CHAMPIONSHIP

St. Lawrence 2 0 -- 2

Wheaton (Ill.) 0 0 -- 0

First half: SL -- Ryan Carruth (Jamal Ballantyne), 3:36; SL -- Mike Berner (Alan Maragh), 26:29.

Shots: St. Lawrence 16, Wheaton (Ill.) 14. Goalkeeper saves: St. Lawrence (Brendan Murphy) 2, Wheaton (Ill.) (Rusty Rosen) 4. Corner kicks: St. Lawrence 1, Wheaton (Ill.) 5. Fouls: St. Lawrence 27, Wheaton (Ill.) 19. Yellow cards: St. Lawrence (Tim Bealer, Carruth, Ali Montacer); Wheaton (Ill.) (Josiah Engblom, David Foulk, Joe Jerele). Attendance: 2,398.